The two stood, facing each other. Highlighted by the moonlight, the majestic white figure of the phantom thief and his fluttering cape stood perched on the second layer of the rooftop. His polar opposite and his one and only rival, had taken a wary stance, as of ready for battle, glaring up at his target.

"Foiling my plans time and time again…" Kid chuckled. "You really never intend to let me rest, do you?"

Conan grinned from ear to ear. "It wouldn't be any fun otherwise."

Merely holding up the shining jewel in his hand to the moon, Kid shrugged. "I guess you're right. But you're not an ordinary kid, are you?" Wrong jewel again. Figures.

"That goes without saying." As the mini detective looked down, the moonlight reflected off the glasses.

A small grin escaped the thief's lips. "Then who exactly are you?"

"I told you the night we met, no? Edogawa Conan, a detective."

As he said those words, simultaneously he pressed the switch on his belt and sent a high power soccer ball in Kid's direction.

The phantom thief stumbled a bit, making a noise before quickly dodging. Conan chuckled. Kid was clearly flustered.

"Oi! Meitantei!" he shouted. Don't go shooting your soccer balls around before we've finished speaking! It's unfair!!"

"And you say that despite using tons of dirty tactics to steal and escape."

The thief sighed. "You want the jewel back, don't you?"

"I would love to put you in prison too, but the jewel comes first, I suppose."

Kid gently tossed the big jewel down to the detective, who then gently stuffed it in his pocket. "Well now, I suppose I should make my escape now or so." he said triumphantly, the steel frame to his hang glider unfolding. Turning the other direction, Kid was ready to jump, when Conan suddenly shouted. "wait!"

The shrill voice made Kid want to cringe, but warily, he turned around. This had better not be a trap.

It was on a whim that Conan decided on this. "would you believe me if I tell you who I actually am?"

"Well at this point, I doubt much could surprise me." Kid replied coolly.

Conan smiled. "Then would you believe me if I said that I'm Shinichi Kudo, the famous high school detective?"

Kid's eyes widened. Given the intelligence of the child before him, it was possible. But this wasn't science fiction. There was no way a fully grown high schooler would just up - or down, then again - and have a shrinking spurt. Calm down and think logically, Kuroba Kaito. Tantei-kun isn't the type to lie. Right, my poker face comes first.

"If you've stayed hidden up till this point after your disappearance from the media, you must not really want to reveal your identity." Kid analyzed, calm and composed.

"I guess so."

"What do you hope to accomplish by telling me?"

"Nothing really. Just a thank you for making my life as an average kid more thrilling, I suppose." the mini detective shrugged.

Without another word, the Phantom thief simply departed on his white wings, leaving Conan to ponder over this reaction of his. Did he really believe the kid? Kid himself didn't even know if he believed it. It was the most preposterous thing he had ever heard.

-O-O-

Conan walked down the stairs and out the entrance to the museum to meet with tons of camera crews and police. Smiling, he pulled his hand out of his pocket, clutching within his hands the stolen jewel. All the camera crews cheered, many anchors exclaiming, "The Kid Killer has done it again!" or the likes of such.

Suddenly, 3 children jumped in front of Conan, piping up. "We helped too!" said a young, husky voice. Said voice belonged to the "leader" of the Detective Boys, a rather round and quite large youth named Genta.

Behind all the bustling and flickering camera shutters, while the kids hogged all the glory they could, Conan gently handed the jewel to Nakamori, who had been lying in wait for the boy to hand him the jewel. Geez, it was a precious artifact; how could it be left in the hands of a mere 7 year-old?

The news anchor in the front had now revised her headline. "Thanks to the valiant efforts of the Detective Boys, the jewel has been returned to police custody!"

The three kids held up peace signs and grinned for the camera, Conan sighing behind them. Well, he couldn't get much attention if he was trying to hide from the Black Organization… Haibara was smart in not coming tonight, whether it was for fear of too much media exposure or the actual lame excuse she had given to the kids.

Everything went silent for a moment as a figure in white descended from the sky to land majestically on the light pole facing the camera crews. He was wearing a devilish grin, pulling down the rim of his hat with one hand and dramatically posing with the other.

Conan's eyes widened. That thief! He mentally screamed. What does he want now?!

"Ladies and gentlemen, make no mistake, tonight was my loss. However, victory lies not with these youths, but solely with him." Kid pointed a finger at the astounded little detective. "I was watching the entire time, very carefully. That kid is no ordinary child. The amazing deduction the kids made was scripted out by him, and carried out in a manner that drew the least attention to himself. So if you would, redirect your praise and attention to the one who truly deserves it!"

With a puff of smoke, Kid disappeared. Probably into the crowd or such, but Conan was not in a situation where he could leisurely chase after the thief. Suddenly, all cameras had been pointed at him, reporters left and right flooding his mind with questions. His expression was truly that of a dumbfounded deer staring straight into the headlights that signaled its early death. This is bad… who knows how much longer my disguise will last?

Thankfully, several police jumped in front of the cameras while continuing their procedures, and Conan was given a chance to slip away unnoticed. The other kids were still busy sulking at the fact that Conan had once again stolen the spotlight.

Running far, far, far away from the cameras, Conan found himself panting and stopping to rest in an alleyway. From behind him, a playful voice rang out. "What's wrong, Meitantei? I thought you would've enjoyed some attention once in awhile."

"You idiot!" Conan blatantly declared. "Do you think there's no reason why I've been staging out these deductions so that I'd get the least attention? You said so yourself! I have a reason to hide my identity!"

"Sheesh, man, chill."

"You think I can?! Revealing my intelligence is basically the equivalent of revealing my identity to people who are already suspicious!"

"Could you calm down and please just tell me why?"

Conan sighed. Hyperventilating would be bad. "Okay, fine, if you want to know so badly. I went to the amusement park with my friend and followed some shady people who were making a suspicious transaction. Their partner snuck up behind me, and I didn't notice. I was force fed a poison meant to kill me, but it shrunk me instead."

"oh." Kid said flatly. Wasn't quite what he expected, but at least he had gotten his info. "and you didn't want your identity revealed because then people around you would be in danger too?"

"exactly!" the boy shouted, frustratedly. "Though it would've been great if a certain thief had figured it out earlier!!" Both of them clearly cringed at the shrill voice that had broken to the surface when anger had taken hold of the small body.

The white magician's expression: completely blank. "whoops."